"According to the story, shouldn't we encounter a giant white worm here?"

After entering the mountainside covered in lush trees, resembling a botanical garden, Harry looked around and asked curiously.

"That's just a legend!" Draco said, adopting a grown-up tone to educate him, "How could such a creature exist in reality!"

Severus, however, ruffled Draco's hair and said,

"That worm might indeed exist, but it was probably already dealt with by me when I found the whistle."

"How is that possible!" Draco remained skeptical. "How could there be such a large worm in this world!"

"To be precise, it was a snake. A very special snake."

Severus looked ahead. A winding path led towards the mountaintop in front of them. The forest didn't cover the entire mountain, and they would reach the bare, steep peak after walking a short distance further.

Sirius, walking at the back, kept a wary eye on their surroundings. His current canine senses and intuition made him feel this place wasn't quite right, making him very uncomfortable.

Especially with the attitudes of Severus and the others right now. They didn't seem like they were on an expedition, but more like two adults taking two children and two pets out for an outing!

It wasn't just similar, as Lupin had actually brought food, just in case they stayed here too long and got hungry.

This casual mindset was too relaxed, intensifying the unease in Sirius's heart.

After walking through this garden-like area for about two hours, they finally emerged.

They had even taken a break midway, seemingly not caring whether the wizards who entered before them might have already reached the summit and found the Fountain.

But upon reaching the steep mountainside, the path ahead was no longer smooth and easy.

The cliff face here was very steep. Without tools, it would be difficult to climb relying on hands alone.

Severus and Lupin also tried casting spells but found that Apparition was impossible here, and almost all magic had no effect on the steep cliff face.

If they wanted to go up, they could only rely on their own hands to climb.

After climbing for less than twenty minutes, Harry was already panting heavily. He clung to the rock face, complaining discontentedly.

"In theory, shouldn't some words appear now, asking for the fruits of our labor, and then our sweat drips onto them, and we pass the level!"

"Don't treat this like an adventure game, Dudley," Lupin admonished, "Those legendary stories are definitely beautified and altered. No one knows what the real situation was like."

Draco also looked up, staring at the seemingly unmoving mountaintop, and said loudly,

"But we've been climbing for so long, and there's no sign of getting any closer to the top! This is exactly like in the story! The mountainside has a trap! If we just climb like this, no matter how much we climb, we'll never reach the destination!"

"But we don't have any other better options, do we?" Severus looked at the two children, comforting them, "Since you chose to come in together, there's no turning back now. No matter what, we must move forward."

Hearing Severus's words, Harry and Draco stopped complaining and continued climbing, sweating profusely.

Another two full hours passed like this, and they were still circling around the halfway point, with no sign of getting closer to the summit!

By now, not just the two children, but even Lupin and Severus could see that if they couldn't find the correct way up the mountain, just continuing like this would probably mean they'd never reach the top in their lifetime.

"In the legend, when reaching this steep cliff, it would actively remind us that we need to offer the fruits of our labor."

Severus began recalling the earliest version of the Fountain of Fair Fortune legend, trying to find clues.

"But if the white basilisk I encountered in the underground ruin before finding the silver whistle symbolizes the 'worm obstacle' before finding the Fountain, that snake didn't open its mouth and say anything about me proving my suffering to it."

"But you killed that snake directly, which counted as passing the level," Lupin said.

"Right." Severus looked up at the mountaintop, "However, given our current situation, we can't exactly level this mountain."

While they were resting on a small platform, thinking of a way to ascend the mountain-

Sirius was also looking for a place to relieve himself.

Although he was in dog form, he absolutely couldn't bring himself to excrete in public like a real dog, especially with two children nearby. He had to maintain some image.

But the cliff face was bare, and finding a secluded spot wasn't easy. Sirius wandered around for a long time before finally finding a somewhat private spot behind three protruding rocks.

Just as he was about to lift his hind leg to release himself, a furry figure suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision.

Harry's pet Puffskein had, for some reason, followed Sirius here. It was perched on one of the three rocks, looking down at Sirius with its large eyes full of curiosity, as if waiting for his next move.

At first, Sirius thought it was just a brainless beast, and he could proceed without any reservation. But being stared at by those eyes, despite his full bladder, he found he couldn't urinate.

"Shoo! You little stupid ball! Go find them, don't bother me here!"

The male broadcaster's voice came from Sirius's collar as he tried to shoo the Puffskein away.

However, the Puffskein not only didn't leave but instead hopped onto Sirius's head. This drove Sirius crazy, and he waved his front paws wildly, trying to knock it off his head.

"You stupid ball! Get down! Or I'll tear you apart! Hurry up! My patience is limited!"

As Sirius ran around aimlessly, trying to drive away the Puffskein, he suddenly stepped into empty air! His entire dog body fell straight down!

Fortunately, the pit he fell into wasn't very deep. He just took a tumble and quickly got back up.

Once steady, Sirius looked around at the scene.

It was actually a cave hidden within the mountainside!

The other end of the cave clearly led towards the mountaintop, clearly another path they had never discovered.

This discovery made Sirius snort coldly. He had no interest in the so-called Fountain of Fair Fortune, but he wouldn't hide his discovery from Severus and the others.

But before returning to the mountainside, he first found a corner here to relieve himself comfortably. Then he returned to Severus and the others and told them about the cave.

Soon, Severus and the others followed Sirius to the spot.

"You're simply amazing, Black!" Harry praised excitedly.

Draco also cheered. He still didn't know Sirius's true identity, as during the day, both Harry and Lupin had been careful. The name 'Black' wasn't uncommon in Britain, not limited to just that one pure-blood family.

Severus also praised Sirius with a smile, but soon he was distracted by a strange smell.

"Why does it smell like urine?"

Sirius, unusually, proactively took the lead, urging them,

"Let's move forward quickly! We don't know if this path actually leads anywhere. Don't waste time here!"

Urged by him, Severus and the other three also began advancing towards the mountaintop through this cave.

This time, they could clearly feel the change in altitude. There was no more of that feeling of spinning their wheels no matter how much they climbed.

Moving forward through the cave for about an hour, they finally reached the cave's exit.

When they stepped out, they discovered the steep, bare cliff face was now behind them. Reaching this point meant they had passed that obstacle!

This outcome made everyone in Severus's group very happy. Not only that, they also discovered they had now reached the very top of this small mountain. Before them was a place like a garden.

However, thick plant walls blocked the view of the innermost area. They could only vaguely see a patch of shimmer and mist in the very center of the garden!

"We're almost at the finish line!"

Harry and Draco cheered excitedly. But a river about four or five meters wide separated them from that garden.

Sirius was the first to try swimming across, but the moment he entered the water, his body uncontrollably started sinking. Severus and Lupin had to work together to pull him out.

Next, Severus and the others tried various spells, but none could get them across the river.

Even when Severus took out a vial of Growth Potion from his pocket and poured it on a blade of grass, trying to make the leaf grow directly to the other bank, the grass, upon reaching near the river's center, was suddenly pulled into the water by a force and couldn't come out.

Here, they encountered another obstacle.

The difficulty they faced matched the one in the Fountain of Fair Fortune's legend. But like the cliff and the white worm before, the river in the story would give the challenger a reminder. This river before them had no such reminder.

Severus and the others didn't just wait idly. They discussed together and began searching along the riverbank, trying to find if there was a bridge or another path on the river itself.

However, the area they could move in on the mountaintop was small. After searching the entire area, they found no clues they were supposed to find.

Just as they were stuck again, Harry, frowning and deep in thought about how to cross the river, suddenly noticed his pet Puffskein had, at some point, approached the riverbank.

This made Harry instinctively reach out to stop it.

"No! Don't fall in!"

He tried to grab the Puffskein but didn't notice a stone on the ground, tripped, and fell flat on his face!

As his body tumbled, nearly uncontrollably into the river, in his panic, Harry suddenly grabbed onto something cold and hard in the muddy soil at the bank, finally stopping his forward momentum.

"Dudley!" Lupin shouted, "Are you alright?"

Harry got up from the ground, covered in grass and dirt, but his other hand still tightly held the Puffskein.

"I'm fine, but I think I grabbed something..."

Before Harry could finish, he stared dumbfounded at the thing he had grabbed that helped stabilize him.

It was actually a long, thin iron chain!

The other end of the chain disappeared into the water. As he pulled on it, something in the water seemed about to be pulled up!

Severus and Draco also saw what Harry had found. They, along with Lupin, came over.

"Pull hard, Harry! This must be the key to crossing the river!" Severus called out.

Harry's face also became excited. He put down the Puffskein in his arms, gripped the chain with both hands, and started pulling back with all his might. But the strength of a ten-year-old boy was limited. Only when Severus and Lupin reached out to help him did the hidden drawbridge finally get pulled up!

"Our luck is too good!" Harry exclaimed, "Now the last obstacle in front of us is gone!"

"I can't believe, with the luck we're having now, how lucky we'll be after bathing in the Fountain of Fair Fortune!" Draco's face was also flushed red.

Lupin secured the iron chain to a tree trunk. Severus, however, blinked as he looked at the bridge before him.

He vaguely felt that being this lucky twice in a row seemed somewhat... off. But this feeling was quickly driven away by the excitement!

No matter what, they were already at the threshold of victory. Once they crossed this bridge, they would reach the end and finally find the legendary Fountain of Fair Fortune!

So, the four, the dog, and the Puffskein didn't linger. After securing the drawbridge, they directly crossed it and entered the garden.

Only after entering did they discover the plants here were exceptionally lush. Vines of all kinds tangled together formed thick walls stretching continuously, actually turning this place into a maze!

But upon discovering it was a maze, Severus and the others showed no sign of worry, because they suddenly remembered something.

Lupin opened the suitcase he always carried with him and pulled out a large, old piece of dragon-hide parchment!